UH notebook: Onobun wows NFL scouts on pro day

Published 5:30 am, Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Tight end Fendi Onobun ran a 4.48 time in the 40-yard dash and had a a 37½-inch vertical jump.

Tight end Fendi Onobun ran a 4.48 time in the 40-yard dash and had a a 37½-inch vertical jump.

Photo: Nick De La Torre, Chronicle

UH notebook: Onobun wows NFL scouts on pro day

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Fendi Onobun streaked down the left sideline and looked back for the football. Blake Joseph delivered the ball on time, in the end zone, hitting Onobun in stride. Onobun caught the ball, smiled, and spiked it.

Where Onobun is heading, spiking the ball in the end zone doesn't mean drawing a penalty flag for excessive celebration. Onobun had NFL scouts buzzing Tuesday during the Houston Cougars' pro day showcase at the Athletics Alumni Center with his combination of size and athletic ability.

“I'm really excited I got the opportunity to show what I can do,” Onobun said. “I think I did really well. I had a great workout. I'm just excited I got an opportunity to show my skills in front of these scouts.”

Onobun, a former University of Arizona basketball player who transferred to UH this past season, wowed the scouts by turning a 4.48 time in the 40-yard dash. The scouts measured him at 6 feet 5½ inches tall and 252 pounds, with a 37½-inch vertical jump. Onobun had the best vertical jump and broad jump (11-1) and tied for the best shuttle time (4.15, matching receiver Tim Monroe) of the 12 players who worked out for the scouts.

Season of change

Maybe not, but Onobun can vouch for the difference one season's worth of UH coaching has made for him. Onobun, who hadn't played organized football since he was at O'Donnell Middle School, suffered a high ankle sprain right before two-a-days and spent the season catching up.

He caught two passes for 33 yards as a backup tight end and blocked two extra points. He describes himself as “way different” from the player who arrived for August workouts.

“When I was just trying to get cutups to send to scouts, I saw my first day of two-a-days, and I looked terrible,” Onobun said. “Blocking drills, running routes, it was really bad. Over the six to eight months I was here, I spent a lot of time in the film room. I spent a lot of time with Coach (Tony) Levine (UH's special teams coordinator). Guys like (receivers) James Cleveland and Tyron Carrier spent a lot of time with me. It was really positive. Guys really took a liking to me.

“They understood the situation. They understood that I had only one year, and they did their best to try to help me get me to this point.

“I think I'm a way, way different player than the guy who came in here. I'm a lot better. I think I've shown I can grow and I can learn at a fast pace and that I have a lot of football left in me.”

Opportunity awaits

Among those beaming was Onobun's Houston-based agent, Graylan Crain. The word from the scouts, Crain said, is that “from a numbers standpoint and what these teams base this on, he had as good a workout as any tight end in the draft.

“He just wants an opportunity,” Crain said. “We don't' try to fill his head with where he may or may not go (in the NFL draft). But after today, he'll definitely have an opportunity.”

Off to market

Another of those in search of an opportunity is Joseph, a former UH quarterback who transferred to Sam Houston State for a chance to start as a senior. Joseph has been working since January with quarterback coach Terry Shea, whose pupils include Oklahoma's Sam Bradford.

“It felt like you're up there for auction like cows,” Joseph said with a laugh. “We had our shirts off and our girdles and everything. It was kind of nerve-wracking.”

Joseph said his priority was to show he could handle the 5- and 7-step drops that are a staple of the pro game.

“I thought everybody did well,” Joseph said. “The receivers caught well. It was nice to be in Houston.”

Spring program moved

The Cougar Youth Experience, originally scheduled for April 17 has been moved to April 24, immediately following the Red-White spring game

Dunens joins volleyball

UH volleyball coach Molly Alvey announced on Tuesday the hiring of Klein High alum Karlis Dunens as an assistant coach.

Dunens, a former manager and volunteer assistant at Texas A&M, spent the past two seasons at Jacksonville State. Alvey already had added Nicole Miller, a grad assistant at Ole Miss, to the staff.